Greek Orthodox Church of Christ the Saviour

08/09/2026

Today, we commemorate the great Feast of the Nativity of Our Most Holy Theotokos, marking a dawn of salvation as through her birth the way is prepared for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Happy name day to all who celebrate today. May Our Most Holy Theotokos protect and intercede for us all, along with the Righteous Ancestors of Our Lord St Joaquim and St Anna.

🔸 September 8 - The Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos 🔸

Today we commemorate the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. The blessed Virgin Mary was born in the small city of Galilee, Nazareth. Her father the Righteous Joachim was of the tribe of King David, and her mother Anna was from the tribe of the First Priest Aaron. The couple was without a child and old in age, but they did not lose faith in God’s mercy, and maintained their hope that He would be able to overcome their barrenness.

They vowed to dedicate the child which the Lord might give them to His service in the Temple. Childlessness was considered a divine punishment for sin among the Hebrews, so Joachim and Anna were slandered by their own countrymen. On one of the feastdays at the Temple in Jerusalem, Joachim brought his sacrifice to offer to God, but the High Priest would not accept it, considering him to be unworthy since he was childless.

In deep grief, St Joachim retreated into the wilderness, and there he prayed with tears entreating the Lord for a child. When St Anna learned what had happened at the Temple, she also wept bitterly in her own garden, not complaining to God, but rather praying for His mercy. In that moment, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to them separately, and announced the joyous news that St Anna would conceive and bear a daughter named Mary, who would be blessed and become a mother to the Savior of the world.

On the right of the first icon, St Joachim receives the revelation from the Archangel Gabriel that he would bear the most blessed daughter. In the top left, he and St Anna share an embrace having received this joyous news. St Anna is shown reclining on her bed as she contemplates this miraculous birth. She gazes at the infant Theotokos who is wrapped in swaddling bands in a cradle.

They are attended to by midwives who have prepared a feast for this joyous event. The Nativity of the Theotokos marks a dawn of salvation, for in her birth the way is prepared for Christ’s coming. Where Eve brought disobedience, the purity of the Mother of God made possible the Incarnation, through which the Fall is reversed and mankind is redeemed.

07/09/2026

We will have Orthros and Divine Liturgy tomorrow at 8.45am-11.30am for the great Feast of the Nativity of Our Most Holy Theotokos.

04/09/2026

Our services this weekend:

Saturday 5th September - Vespers at 6pm

We will have Holy Confessions from 3pm with Father Michael in English and Greek. Please arrive at 3pm for the Forgiveness Prayer.

Sunday 6th September (14th Sunday of Matthew) - Orthros and Divine Liturgy at 8.45am-12.30pm.

There will be refreshments at the church house after the Divine Liturgy, provided by our Philoptohos.

03/09/2026

Our Parish Feast Day

On 6th August, we celebrated our Parish's Feast Day of the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We celebrated Orthros and Hierarchical Divine Liturgy and were honoured to be joined by His Grace Bishop Iakovos and Deacons of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira & Great Britain. We were blessed to also have Father Constantinos and Presbytera Helen join us. Following the Divine Liturgy, we continued the festivities with a delicious fish lunch. Thank you for joining us.

The day was made even more special for our community when Andrei Popa and Gratian Pasca were made Readers by Bishop Iakovos. We are blessed to have you serve in our community and pray that God continues to guide you in your service for Christ and Our Most Holy Theotokos protects you always. Axios! Axios! Axios!

A huge thank you to our Philoptohos for all their efforts and hard work providing a delicious lunch for the community, as well as decorating the Icon and church.

A big thank you also to Alexios Gennaris and Alexandra Gennaris for joining us for the day and for the beautiful photos, as always.

01/09/2026

Today, we also commemorated the Holy 40 Virgin Martyrs. Happy name day to all celebrating, including our Presbytera Athina. May the Holy Martyrs intercede for us all.

🔸 September 1 - The Holy Forty Virgin Martyrs 🔸

Today, we also commemorate the Holy Forty Virgin Martyrs and their teacher Saint Ammoun. They suffered for Christ in the early 4th century during the reign of the Emperor Licinius. These holy women lived as ascetics in Adrianople, Thrace, under the spiritual guidance of St Ammoun the Deacon. Babdos, the ruler of the region, arrested them and tried to force them to worship the pagan idols. Standing before the idols, the faithful women and the Deacon Ammoun prayed fervently to God.

Immediately, the idols shattered, and the wicked pagan priest was lifted and suspended in the air by an invisible force. He remained there for many hours until he finally fell and died. Babdos then ordered St Ammoun to be suspended in order to lacerate his sides, and burn his wounds with lit candles, and then a red-hot bronze helmet was placed on his head, but miraculously he was delivered from these tortures.

The holy martyrs were then taken to the ruler Licinius in Heraclea. There they were thrown by Licinius to the wild beasts, but as the holy women and their teacher prayed, the animals fell asleep and did not touch them. While the soldiers were lighting a fire in which to throw the Martyrs, they predicted to the impious Licinius the victory of his co-ruler St Constantine the Great, the triumph of Christianity, and the eradication of idolatry.

Ten of the Holy Virgins were cast into a fire where they delivered their souls; eight were beheaded with the Deacon Ammoun; ten were executed after being stabbed in the heart with a sword, or after red-hot irons had been put into their mouths. Of the last twelve, six died after heated metal balls were put into their mouths, and six were stabbed with knives.

The names of these Forty Holy Virgins are: Adamantine, Athena, Akrive, Antigone, Arivea, Aspasia, Aphrodite, Dione, Dodone, Elpinike, Erasmia, Erato, Ermeneia, Evterpe, Thaleia, Theanoe, Theano, Theonymphe, Theophane, Kalliroe, Kalliste, Kleio, Kleonike, Kleopatra, Koralia, Lambro, Margarita, Marianthe, Melpomene, Moscho, Ourania, Pandora, Penelope, Polymnia, Polynike, Sapfo, Terpsichore, Troada, Haido, and Harikleia.

01/09/2026

Today, 1st September, marks the beginning of the Ecclesiastical Year. We wish our Parish and community a blessed new year. May Our Lord bless this new year and Our Most Holy Theotokos protect us all.

September 1 marks the beginning of the Church Year, when, according to Holy Tradition, Christ entered the synagogue to proclaim (quoting Isaiah 61:1-2):

“The spirit of the Lord is upon me; because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to proclaim release to captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord...” (Luke 4:16-22)

Let us resolve this new year holy and acceptable to the Lord!

01/09/2026

Our mid-week services this week

Today, Tuesday 1st September:

- Ayiasmos/Blessing of the Waters at 6pm
- Paraclesis/Supplicatory Canon to Our Most Holy Theotokos at 7pm

Thursday, 3rd September, at 7pm - Vespers

There is no Orthros this week or next week.

31/08/2026

Philoptohos Annual General Assembly

Our Philoptohos will be holding our Annual General Assembly on Sunday 27th September in our church, straight after the Divine Liturgy, starting at 1.15pm. All Philoptohos members are warmly invited to attend.

This is a very important meeting for our Philoptohos. We will be sharing the work we have been doing in the past year. This is also an opportunity for members to ask questions and share ideas.

This meeting is for Philoptohos members only. If you are not already a Philoptohos member and would like to join, please see Koulla, the President.

We will also be holding elections for a new Committee. Philoptohos members are welcome to nominate themselves or others.

The Philoptohos is the charitable arm of our community. Both men and women can join (men cannot serve on the Committee). As members, you will be actively supporting our work helping those in need locally and around the world and can join our WhatsApp group. The membership subscription is £25 per year.

We look forward to bringing all our Philoptohos members together to celebrate our work, which without their support would not be possible.

Thank you for your support.

27/08/2026

Today we commemorate St Phanourios the Great Martyr. Read more about this newly-appeared Saint below, along with the recipe for the Phanourios Cake/Phaneropitta. May St Phanourios intercede for us all and help us find what we need, with the help of God.

Phanourios the Great Martyr & Newly Appeared of Rhodes
August 27

Little is known of the holy Martyr Phanurius, except that which is depicted concerning his martyrdom on his holy icon, which was discovered in the year 1500 among the ruins of an ancient church on Rhodes, when the Moslems ruled there. Thus he is called "the Newly Revealed." The faithful pray to Saint Phanurius especially to help them recover things that have been lost, and because he has answered their prayers so often, the custom has arisen of baking a Phaneropita ("Phanurius-Cake") as a thanks-offering.

The Tradition of the Faneropita
When the saint reveals what is lost, bake this cake in his honor, and bring it to the church to be blessed and shared with the community. It is also a tradition for each person to say a prayer for St. Fanourios’ mother when eating their slice of the cake.

RECIPE
Ingredients:

4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup oil
1 cup & 2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup orange juice
grated peel of one lemon
pinch of salt
powdered sugar to dust the top
Directions:

Mix flour and cinnamon in a large bowl.
In another bowl, mix oil, sugar, orange juice, water and lemon peel. Beat well.
Add baking powder, salt, raisins and walnuts to the first bowl. Mix well.
Add dry ingredients to Bowl 2.
Grease and flour a baking pan.
Pour batter into pan.
Bake for 45 minutes @ 350 degrees.
Cool completely.
Dust with powdered sugar.
Tip: Let the cake sit a day before serving, as it will better absorb the flavor.


The Tradition of Agios Fanourios' Mother
There is a tradition that his mother was a sinner, and Agios Fanourios was unable to convert her in her lifetime. After she died, it is said that he prayed more for her salvation than for his own. Even when facing is own death, he prayed:

For the sake of these my sufferings, Lord, help all those who will pray to Thee for the salvation of Fanourios' sinful mother.
So, the following prayer has become a tradition for many Christians:

O Lord, save Fanourios' mother and help me, a sinner.

25/08/2026

Join us for Divine Liturgy in English this Saturday.

This Saturday on the Commemoration of the Beheading of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John, we will celebrate Orthros and Divine Liturgy in the English language:

10:00 - Orthros
11:00 - Divine Liturgy

After the service, there will be refreshments hosted by our Youth Society. All are welcome.